Report: New York Mets Pitching Prospect Likely To Have Elbow Surgery

The New York Mets had hopes that Nate Lavender would be able to help their bullpen at some point this season. Those hopes appear to be dashed.

Lavender, a left-handed pitcher who is the Mets’ No. 24 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has ligament damage in his throwing elbow and will probably need Tommy John surgery, according to a report at MLB.com.

New York has not made any official announcement about this, yet.

The Syracuse Mets, the team’s Triple-A affiliate, put Lavender on their injured list earlier this week after his last appearance on April 19 against Charlotte, when he pitched two innings of scoreless relief.

Through five games he had a 3.86 ERA.

The ominous part of the report is that Lavender is seeking a medical opinion from Dr. Keith Meister, one of the most respected surgeons when it comes to Tommy John surgery and the latest iteration of the procedure, the internal brace. He is based in Arlington, Texas, and is the Texas Rangers’ team surgeon.

He performed Jacob deGrom’s elbow surgery last year recently operated on Atlanta Braves‘ ace Spencer Strider.

The report noted that Lavender is expected to make an in-person visit to Meister next week. At that time a surgical determination could be made.

He would miss the rest of this season and part of next year if they go the internal brace or Tommy John route.

Lavender was the Mets’ 14th-round draft pick in 2021 and has made 77 career appearances in the minor leagues, with just two starts. He has a 10-6 record with a 2.41 ERA, along with eight holds and 13 saves. He also has 176 career strikeouts and has held batters below a .200 average.